Visiting Coastal Georgia kept LaGrange winless with a 3-0 sweep of the Panthers on Tuesday night in Richter Gym. The Mariners improved to 7-5 while the Panthers dipped to 0-8.
Senior Jharia Harris led LaGrange with nine kills. Alexis Childers had a double-double of 17 assists and 10 digs. Meredith Orton added seven kills and Zentrina Choice had six.
Coastal took a hard-fought 27-25 win in the first set. The Panthers took an early 7-5 lead after a kill by Harris. The Mariners scored seven of the next eight points to go up 12-8. LC tied the set at 19 off an unforced Mariner error.
Trailing 24-22, the Panthers reeled off three straight points, the last coming on an ace by Chantiya Johnson. The Mariners answered with three straight kills by Paula Perez Rosales, who had a match-high 14 kills, to take the set.
LC had a strong start in the second set. Leading 11-10, the Panthers went on a 5-1 run to go up 16-11. Childers's kill gave the Panthers the five-point cushion.
The Mariners regained the lead with three straight points for a 20-19 lead. Kerri Little's kill off an assist from Childers tied the set for the last time at 20. LC got within 24-23 before Coastal closed out the set off an unforced Panther error.
The third set was all Coastal. The Mariners scored the first six points and coasted to a 25-6 win to end the match.
The Panthers host Belhaven in a Collegiate Conference of the South match Thursday, Sept. 22 at 7 p.m.
